Terry Wilson, the owner of a growing commercial janitorial business, planned carefully for a presentation to Alliance Banks South (ABS). He wanted a contract to provide cleaning services for the bank’s facilities throughout the state. After researching what janitorial services ABS needed, he wrote a detailed outline, complete with company facts and figures. He gave himself plenty of time to write and bind copies of the proposal and to construct clear electronic slides for the presentation. On the appointed day, he arrived at the ABS conference room 30 minutes early, turned on the computer/projector, placed his speech notes on the lectern, and began checking his slides.

Stunned, then panicked, Terry realized that he had brought the wrong disk. These slides did not include the latest financial updates and would not match the printed documents that he planned to distribute. He flipped to the handouts to check the numbers, only to find that in collating he had reversed several pages. With these mistakes, he had to do some creative thinking to save the presentation and maintain credibility. He also knew that he needed to remain upbeat and confident during the presentation. What would be his best course of action? What could he have done before arriving at the meeting room to minimize these difficulties? What could he say or do after the presentation that would help him to achieve his goal?